Sunday, September 04, 2011

Indian sculptures at Bellows Falls


 Benjamin H. Hall, in a History of Eastern Vermont,  writes of the familiar Bellows Falls Petroglyphs, but adds this engraving above that I'd never seen before this morning:  "a separate rock, situated a short distance from the main group, a single bead is sculptured, which is finished with rays or feathers, and was probably intended to designate an Indian chief. The length of the head, exclusive of the rays, is fourteen inches, and its breadth across the forehead in its widest part is ten inches..."
You can find the rest (by scrolling down) here: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vtwindha/hev/hevch21.htm

2 comments :

Chris Pittman said...

Interesting. There are currently two panels with the faces, both have multiple carvings. I might suggest that what Hall is describing is the northernmost panel. Based on his drawing I might suggest he had not actually visited the site himself. Unfortunately the bulk of the carvings were altered in the 20th century so we can only speculate on their original form. It is certainly possible that there are more petroglyphs at that site, buried under sediment and cinders.

Chris Pittman said...

Also looking at my notes I see that is has been postulated that some of the carvings on the north panel may have been added in the 19th century. Perhaps it was in fact only one head on that panel, originally.